


Fluffy February Day 14 - Sick Day

by valkyriejack (vikings_of_valhalla)



Series: Fluffy February 2021 [12]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Sickfic, Soup, fluffy february
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29405535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vikings_of_valhalla/pseuds/valkyriejack
Summary: Deacon runs himself ragged and gets sick. Luckily Nate is there to care for him.forFluffy Februaryoriginally posted on mytumblr
Relationships: Deacon & Male Sole Survivor, Deacon & Sole Survivor (Fallout)
Series: Fluffy February 2021 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2137989
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6
Collections: Fluffy February 2021





	Fluffy February Day 14 - Sick Day

**Author's Note:**

> find the original prompt list [@fluffyfebruary](https://fluffyfebruary.tumblr.com/post/639602426793623552/fluffy-february-prompts)

Deacon was running himself ragged. Not that he’d ever admit it. But between setting up a new safehouse, running synths out of the ‘Wealth, and keeping up with Bullseye, he was starting to slow down a little. Never used to be a problem, but his age was starting to catch up with him.

He arrived at HQ to find Glory waiting in ambush for him. She took one look at him and said, “You look like shit.”

“Nice to see you too. You’re looking radiant as ever.” Deacon said.

“You should talk to Carrington. It’ll be bad for morale if you die on us.”

“Your concern is touching, but I’m fine. I feel healthy as a horse.”

“Horses are extinct.”

“Well, it was nice seeing you, talk to you later. Bye!”

“Deacon -” 

But he had already moved on.

“Desdemona! How are you doing this lovely evening?” he asked.

Dez took one look at him and said, “You look like shit.”

Deacon decided to ignore her. “So, what’s on the agenda for tonight?”

She scrutinized him critically for a moment, then said, “I need you to fetch Bullseye from Mercer. I have a job that requires… subtlety. Can’t send anyone else.”

“You got it, boss. One Bullseye coming right up.”

That was a close one. He was sure she was going to order him to take a break. But she knew as well as he did that they couldn’t afford to give him any time off.

By the time he arrived at Mercer safehouse, he was wheezing and struggling to breathe. Hopefully Nate wouldn't notice.

“You look like -”

“Shit. I know. I’ve heard. Everybody’s picking on me today. Glory, Dez, now you? Giving me real self esteem issues here, boss.”

“I was going to say you look like you could use a break.”

“Oh. Well, I can’t. Dez needs us for a job right now. We need to get going."

“I’m serious. Come sit down, let me make you some soup.”

“I don’t need your pity soup. We need to get back to HQ.”

“Deacon -”

“Well, it was nice seeing you, but I really must be going now. I have a tea party planned with Mr. Pebbles and I really can’t afford to miss it.”

“Okay, now I can’t tell if you’re delirious or if you’re just trying to be funny, either way, you really should sit down. Just for a minute at least.”

Deacon waffled back and forth for a minute, then said, “All right fine. You win. But just for a moment, then we really need to get going.”

He collapsed down on the couch and tried to catch his breath. When did breathing get so hard? He didn’t even notice when Nate left until he was back and holding a can of water in front of him. He took it graciously, and drank it all in one go.

“I’m serious about the soup. It’s no trouble.”

Deacon considered Nate’s proposal. He hadn’t had breakfast, and it was already past lunch time.

“All right. I can stay for soup, but then we really gotta be going.”

“Good. I’ll see what we have, you just stay there and rest, okay?”

“Okay.” he said, too tired to come up with anything else to say.

Nate left to go make lunch. If you could call a three o’clock meal lunch anyway. When he finished making the soup he poured a bowl for Deacon, then carried it back to the couch, only to find that Deacon had fallen asleep.

He set the bowl of soup down, grabbed a blanket and a pillow and tucked Deacon in. He needed sleep more than he needed food. He’d let him rest, then heat up the soup once he woke up.

Deacon drifted in and out of consciousness for the rest of the day. During one of his more lucid moments, Nate was able to get some food in him, and talk him into sleeping in an actual bed. Deacon kept insisting that they get going, that they had a job to do. He would jolt awake, see Nate sitting next to him, and remember that he was supposed to be on a job. At first, Nate tried just telling him that they’d get to it after he recovered, but Deacon wouldn’t hear it. So Nate had to resort to lying, which he was terrible at, saying that they’d already finished the job. Luckily for him, Deacon was so out of it that he didn’t question it.

Nate felt terrible about lying to him, and about blowing off the job. Deacon didn’t say what it was, and Nate wasn’t sure he even knew. Whatever it was though, it sounded important, He felt guilty about blowing it off, but this was more important. Deacon just didn’t take care of himself the way he should. He was always too busy looking after other people or too caught up in his work to bother with things like self care. Nora had been the same way. She worked right through her pregnancy, up to the last possible moment, and even then she tried working from home.

Nate was pulled from his reverie by Deacon waking up again.

“The job. We need to get going.” he mumbled. He reached for his sunglasses as he tried to get out of bed, but Nate stopped him. 

“We finished the job, remember?”

“We did? What was it?”

“We just had to clear out some bugs from that house by the water. Remember?”

That wasn’t technically a lie, they had done that together, but not for the Railroad.

“Oh right. We did do that, didn’t we.” He coughed. Nate handed him a handkerchief. Deacon blew his nose. “Oh gross.” He threw the used handkerchief on the floor. “Nate, if I tell you something, do you promise not to tell the others?”

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s important. I need to tell you. But you can’t tell anyone, okay? You promise?”

“All right. I promise. What is it?”

“I think I’m coming down with something.”

“Oh.” That wasn’t what he was expecting at all.

“Promise you won’t tell Dez?”

“I promise.”

Three days later, Nate headed back out to HQ with Deacon, who was currently pretending like he wasn’t pissed off about missing the job. In fact, he was uncharacteristically silent the entire trip. Maybe it was because he was still recovering. Yeah. That could be it. Right?

When they finally made it to the Old North Church, Dez looked surprised to see them.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you still sick?” she asked.

“We came about the job. The important one, the one you said only Deacon and I could do?”

“Deacon was the job.”

Deacon broke his silence. “Excuse me?”

“We can’t afford to lose one of our best agents. Better lose him for a few days than to lose him entirely.”

Her logic was sound. It would be pretty hard to argue with her on that.

Deacon was not conceived it seemed. “So why bother telling me there was a job at all?”

“To get you out of HQ. I can’t risk getting the rest of us sick too.”

Deacon whirled around at Nate. “Were you in on this too?”

“No, I’m just as surprised as you are, although it does make sense. For what it’s worth, I am sorry I lied to you.”

“I’m not.” said Dez.

Deacon was about to go off on a tangent, but before he could start, he was interrupted by a loud cough. He turned around and saw Nate covering his mouth, looking a little rough around the edges.

“I uh…” Nate started. “I’ll just go back to my place in Diamond City for a while.”

“That would be best.” said Desdemona.

“Come on. I’ll make you some soup when we get there.” said Deacon.

**Author's Note:**

> come find me on tumblr [@valkyriejack](valkyirejack.tumblr.com)


End file.
